It's a girl!
Now what?
While Jewish tradition is clear about the ceremony for welcoming a baby boy, there is no set ritual for welcoming a baby girl. In more traditional communities, the father of…the baby takes an aliyah to the Torah on the first Torah-reading day after the birth. A prayer for well-being is recited for the mother and the child, and the baby girl receives her name. Often the rabbi or parents speak about the name. In more progressive communities, this naming might occur on a Shabbat… >> Read More

As if the holidays are not busy enough for our interfaith family, we have decided to do our daughters’ naming ceremonies in December.
When we had our first daughter we were undecided on how we…were going to raise her and what sacraments/traditions she would practice. After our second daughter was born we decided to expose our daughters to both faiths. More specifically, we became members of a synagogue and we plan on having them attend Hebrew school when they are older. At the age you would typically plan for… >> Read More

A child's name is significant in forming her identity; going through life as either Mackenzie or Maayan will probably affect her in many ways. Luckily, Jewish tradition offers some guidelines for…how to choose a meaningful name. All of these fall under the banner of custom or tradition--not law--so feel free to view the suggestions below as just that: suggestions. Pick what works for you. One Name or Two? Perhaps you--like many parents of Jewish kids in America--are looking to give your child both an English… >> Read More